Patti Smith to Appear on "Law & Order"

Other than her unforgettable work as "Newborn Baby (voice)" in 1998's The Rugrats Movie, punk legend Patti Smith hasn't done a whole lot of acting. But as TV Guide reports (via the Daily Swarm), in a forthcoming episode of the USA Network procedural ["Law & Order: Criminal Intent"](http://www.usanetwork.com/series/criminalintent/ ""Law & Order: Criminal Intent"" ), Smith will step in front of the camera to play "Columbia University mythology professor Cleo Alexander."The episode, which airs Sunday night at 9 eastern on USA, is loosely based on the string of injuries that have befallen the Broadway show "Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark"; it concerns a Broadway actor who dies while performing a stunt. In her appearance, Smith's character explains to Vincent D'Onofrio that the myth of Icarus is her "favorite metaphor for failed ambition."

Talking to TV Guide, Smith says that D'Onofrio gave her acting instruction: "He's been taught by the greatest, and he taught me, so I feel like if I had to do it again, I'd be really good. He's such a great actor, such a great director and becoming such a good friend."